On March 2, 1900, twenty minutes to two in the midnight—near Saint Josephine University's park, they sat on a bench under the dim glow of a street lamp. Kenzo stood close behind them, smoking a cigarette. Leon was only permitted to speak as long as it didn't surpass the limits, and he had to stop the instant Kenzo ordered him to. Agreeing to those rules, Leon began:
"My father and I returned from Lafiaza last October 1899. We had lived there for seven years, but after my mother passed away, my dad decided to move back to Feropia. I was admitted to Detens Scholars High School and College shortly after that. My dad is a former investigator; he and Mr. Kenzo are great friends and had graduated from the same college and university. Throughout his criminal investigation career, my dad had developed hemophobia (phobia of blood) from dealing with gory scenarios, so he quit and became a Geology teacher instead. Right when we returned to Feropia, Kenzo and my father had planned a small get-together beforehand, and we arrived in Christina for Christmas on the twenty-fifth of December. In the evening, we stopped by a telephone booth. Kenzo was running late, so Daima made a call while I stood by the car outside. That's when I saw Naomi and Futaba walking down the opposite footpath. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary until I spotted an old man with a tall brown beard, donned in a brown jacket, following them in a suspicious rhythm; his face was covered by a red muffler. My instincts whispered to me that something was off. So I decided to sneak behind the man to be sure. I could've called Daima to come with me, but I was afraid I might miss them. After walking continuously for five to six minutes, nothing happened, but—" Leon broke off.
"Just when I thought about turning back, near the park, I saw the old man pull out a sharp knife and stab Futaba in the chest several times. Naomi, who was close to him, screamed loudly—perhaps even tried to escape—but she probably failed. I rushed to my dad as quickly as I could…" Mion's eyes widened, her heart pounding faster. Leon's eyes were fixed on her; he was not permitted to speak beyond his limits. He was bound by those limits, yet he was deeply sorry to her.
Then, all of a sudden, he placed his hands on her shoulders and said, "I'm sorry." He began sobbing.
Fat drops of tears welled up from his eyes. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry, Mion. I've wronged you. I could have saved them—I was there at that moment, I could have saved them—but I didn't. I'm sorry…"
Kenzo stared at him, his eyes widened; his mouth curved downward in a subtle way, his head seemingly stuck in Leon's direction. It was the similar ambiguous emotion, but rather now his expression was more discernible—he was afraid. "Are you alright?" Kenzo asked Leon with an intense look in his eyes. Leon just nodded.
Mion could tell Leon had been in a tough spot, carrying this burden; he was truly penitent. She used her sleeve to wipe his tears.
"By the time I returned, Kenzo had arrived," Leon continued. "We rushed to the park, but by then the old man had disappeared. Futaba was already dead from the stab wounds, blood pouring out. But Naomi was still alive; she was—breathing. Father called an ambulance immediately, but the depressing thing is, no one was around near the park—not a single soul. I stayed with Naomi while she was being taken to the hospital. I thought we could save her, but she didn't make it. 'Time of death: 5:39:30.' When the doctor said those numbers, I felt lost."
Mion's heart was shredding; Leon tried to help her remain calm. But then she asked, "How did you know it was Hojo? Had you seen his face?" Leon told her he had, but there was no particular way to prove it was him and not Santa. "He even planted a Santa toy to make it seem like a serial killing. We didn't give up, though; I wished to bring justice to Naomi. Later, when I joined the school, I immediately recognized him—Hojo Tetsuya. I was certain it was him. I told my father and Kenzo, but since we had no solid evidence, we decided to remain quiet. If Hojo had sensed that we knew, he might have escaped."
Mion glanced into his eyes; guilt was evident as he pleaded for forgiveness. "I'm sorry, Mion. I kept this secret from you. I tried to tell you sooner, but you wouldn't talk to me. And I was afraid. I thought you would hate me for keeping this hidden from you for so long. I'm sorry…" But contrary to what Leon had feared, she was rather thankful to him for being so generous toward her. Still, she had many questions buried deep inside her, constantly seeking answers. She hesitated, unsure if Kenzo would allow it, but still asked anyway, "Why, Leon? Why did Hojo want to kill them?"
Leon sought Kenzo's permission before answering. Kenzo said nothing, which indicated—fine. But Leon could tell that he had no intentions of being involved in it.
"Every action of a man has a reason, and every tragedy has an origin," Leon began. "Seven years ago, in Narurami (a district of Feropia), there was an encounter involving a notorious yet insignificant criminal named Mado Tetsuya—Hojo's only and beloved younger brother. Unlike Hojo—a respected man—Mado was a local criminal, always seeking shortcuts to earn money, doing unethical things for self-satisfaction. Despite Hojo's efforts to steer him away, Mado kept getting involved in unethical works and gang quarrels. But things took a mischievous turn when they encountered officers in a brutal shootout. The entire police department chased after them like a cat hunting mice, and Mado's name was added to the extermination list along with his buddies. Desperate to save his brother, Hojo brought him to Christina and allowed Mado to seek shelter for months. But the police tracked him down. Mado had to run for his life, and on July 4, while escaping a police chase, he climbed the stairs into a flat, broke into Futaba's door, and begged for shelter. But Futaba refused to let him in. The police had surrounded the building. Just then, Naomi was at the doorsteps, returning from her tuition. In desperation, Mado grabbed her as a hostage and threatened Futaba to let him in. But Futaba didn't like it one bit. And he did what any father would do—"
Men are strange creatures. They could beg, cling, cry, even dishonor themselves. But when it is about their family, they can become the most vile, vicious creatures in existence.
"Futaba strangled Mado without a second thought and pushed him from the fifth floor. Without hesitation or remorse. Mado fell headfirst; his brain was crushed, causing his death almost instantly yet painfully."
Mion began trembling. She hadn't known it was Hojo's brother until now. "The newspapers printed the news everywhere. The incident broke Hojo completely; he stayed depressed for months in his brother's absence. But in the end, he decided to take revenge. At first, he killed Mado's friends because he thought they were the root reason Mado turned out like this. Then the officers working on the case: Joyce—29 years old, female officer; Ramemodo—aged 57, involved in the extermination, killed three years later, six months after his retirement; Kanao—aged 21, the officer who submitted the naming list of the criminals, enabling the encounter. And finally, after seven years of patience, Hojo killed Futaba and his innocent daughter—Naomi."
"If he had kept constantly killing people, the chances of being caught would have increased. He knew that, so he stayed calm—since his prey were already in his trap. So he remained patient—until after seven years, he killed them both."
Mion clenched her fists and struck the backrest of the bench with the lower side of them—thud!—like a hammer. Anger boiling within her. "But Naomi wasn't at fault!" she revolted. "What Dad did was what any father would do to protect his child! What Hojo did is unjust! If he—If Hojo loved his brother so much… why didn't he kill himself instead?!" she yelled in pure rage.
Leon said, "Humans find salvation in revenge rather than forgiveness. It's not about justice; it's about satisfaction. That's our nature—that's what we are. Even though it was his brother's fault, he needed someone to blame. And ended up blaming an innocent child and her father for his brother's deeds." Leon wiped her tears gently, but Mion brushed his hands off. Her eyes turned red; she was trembling; her eyes were throwing off hate and rage. Leon noticed it, but before he could say more, Kenzo grabbed Leon by the collar. "You've said enough! It's almost 4 AM. Let's go home. And Mion, if you need anything, call me or the department. We're here for you always."
Leon gestured for her to smile a bit while being dragged away by Kenzo. Mion stood there for a while. Everything she had learned brought her nothing but deep hatred, WRATH. As she slowly walked back home, she whispered under her breath, "If you loved your brother so much… why didn't you kill yourself? 'Humans find salvation in revenge rather than forgiveness'? Maybe that's very true."
The next morning, Manabu arrived at school late, as usual. The period had already begun. Their first period was physics, so Daima let him in. Leon waved his hand with a smile. Mion was in class, but she was quiet. Leon noticed her long face. He approached her during the lunch period, along with Manabu. They asked if she was alright. She said she was fine, just a little headache. Leon smiled, advising her to rest properly, leaned close to her ear, and whispered, "Don't overthink; everything will be fine. I'm here for you."
Mion smiled a bit and nodded. Manabu smiled and went to the cafeteria. Everything seemed fine. However, the next day, Mion was absent. A flicker of concern crossed his mind. During the lunch break, Leon approached him with a casual air but a hint of concern in his voice. "Do you know where Mion is? She didn't come today."
Manabu didn't know. He thought she was unwell since she had mentioned a headache yesterday—nothing serious, he thought. But he still felt like seeing her. As they spoke, Taiju and Mai walked over, their faces beaming with a certain glow.
"We're officially dating," Mai announced, and Leon's face lit up with a grin. He patted Taiju on the shoulder. "Finally! So, when's the wedding?"
Taiju blushed, scratching the back of his head. "Huh!? Wedding!?"
Manabu chuckled while Mai mentioned their plans for a date later that day. But then Taiju asked about Mion. None of them were sure. Maybe she was sick. Taiju suggested Manabu check on her after school. "You should go and check on her after school."
Manabu thought the same, but that day he had to attend a club meeting. So he tried calling Mion instead, but there was no answer. Another day passed, and still no clue; he tried calling her but got no response. Concern gnawed at him, and he decided to visit her home. When he reached her apartment, the door was locked. She wasn't home either. Another day passed, then another. A week went by like this, and Mion's absence became a gaping void. Something was definitely wrong, and then…
On March 13, 1900—Manabu arrived at school, yawning and rubbing his eyes. As he walked in, he noticed a group of police officers standing outside the school gates. His brows furrowed. What's going on? His concern grew; he was worried about Mion. In the classroom, he dropped his bag and immediately went to Taiju's section to ask about the situation. "Hey, do you know what's happening?"
Taiju shrugged. "No idea. They've been here since early morning. Looks serious."
Soon, the first period began. Mr. Daima entered the classroom, but he wasn't alone. A police officer followed him inside. Mr. Kenzo stood outside, peering in through the window with a grim expression. Manabu was shaking; he just hoped it wasn't related to Mion. His gaze shifted to Leon, who was sitting with his head buried under his arms, sweat trickling down his temple. He looked unusually stressed—an abnormal response. The police officer stepped forward and announced, "Your school's respected principal, Mr. Hojo Tetsuya, was killed last night. And the prime suspect is Sayuri Mion."
"...history of repeated injuries and usurpations…" Someone whispers in Manabu's memories...